Hindustan

In this week’s Spot, Sadhguru writes about his public talk at Emory University. “This lecture was organized by an endowment of an Indian family of professors dedicated towards Eastern studies or Indian studies. India cannot be studied, at the least one must soak it in, or at best must dissolve. This is the only way.” Sadhguru then writes about the uniqueness of India as a spiritual possibility, and pens a new poem called “Hindustan” which was inspired by this ancient land. Enjoy!

Article

Apr 17, 2013

Hindustan

An ancient land
Where Man learned to excel
Without having to propel
himself away from the
Principles that maketh
life process and the universe

A land where man was not
eager to do his own will
but to fulfill the will of the divine

He grew in knowing and learning
to enhance himself into an
exuberance of intelligence and emotion
Enshrined the carnal and the divine
Delved deep into the innards
of creation, deciphered the primordial
mastered the melody and the math
of music of sound and all its
manifestations. Above all
found the doors of freedom
Assured of final freedom
Came to an ease and beauty
Where life was not burden but
a Bounty. A copious production
of effulgent and gentle beings
occurred. Masculine and feminine
found their fulfillment and
went Beyond. An ideal prey
for the brutal forces from
across.........

This week, I was to address the faculty and students of Emory University. Members of the public were also invited and the chapel in the University Campus was full with over 1200 people. This lecture was organized by an endowment of an Indian family of professors dedicated towards Eastern studies or Indian studies. India cannot be studied, at the least one must soak it in, or at best must dissolve. This is the only way. It cannot be studied, western analysis of India is too off the mark, as symptomatic analysis of Bharat will only lead to very grossly misunderstood conclusions of a nation that revels and thrives in a chaos that is organic and exuberant.

This most ancient of nations upon this earth is not built upon a set of principles or beliefs or ambitions of its citizenry. It is a nation of seekers, seeking not wealth or wellbeing, but liberation, not of economic or political kind, but the ultimate liberation.

A Godless but a Devout nation. When I say Godless, we need to understand that this is the only culture that has given humans the freedom not just to make a choice of Gods, but to create the sort of God that you can relate to. When Adi Yogi was asked how many ways to enlightenment, he said only 112 if you are within the realm of your physical system, but if you transcend the physical, then every atom in the universe is a doorway. “Bharat”, as the nation has been known for many millennia, is a complex amalgamation of this variety of spiritual possibilities. If you happen to be at the Maha Kumbh, there was quite a display of this. The best compliment came from none other than Mark Twain, after his visit to India, he said, "So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked."

India is not a study, but a phenomenon of possibilities, though a cauldron of multiple cultural, ethnic, religious and linguistic soup. It is all held together by a single thread of seeking. The tremendous longing has been nurtured into the peoples of the land, the longing to be free. Free from the very process of life and death.

One must not forget that the basis of seeking is that One has realized that One does not know. One does not know the nature of One’s being. Instead of settling for a culturally convenient belief, for a whole populace to have the courage and commitment to seek the truth about themselves. This the basis of this nation that is called Bharata. Bha meaning sensation, that is the basis of all experience and expression; Ra meaning Raga, the tune and texture of life; Ta meaning Tala, the rhythms of life, which involve both rhythms of the human system and nature.

A nation that was conjured not in the minds of the ambitious, but by the sages, not for profit but in profoundness. Bharat is not to be seen as just another political entity, but as a gateway to the fulfillment of the innermost longings of the human creature. To preserve, protect and nurture the fundamental ethos of Bharat, the legacy of wisdom and unbridled exploration of life is a true gift to the Humanity as a whole. As a generation, this is an important responsibility that we should fulfill. Let not the limitless possibilities that the sages of this land explored and expounded be lost in religious bigotry and senseless simplistic dogmas.

Beautiful words. I definitely agree that the most ancient nations that have set foot here on earth had principles and beliefs that were not centered on the desires solely of the leaders or those who had power but it held its people as a priority.

...and such a sweet way to remind the Bharath-wasi about their true goals &amp; helping us to pick up ourselves, while showcasing to the world at large about us Easterners..... Thank you for ringing in Awareness... How does one reflect all that is shared about the Indian... Guess, it is best &amp; easier to dissolve in your Presence, O Guru.. Pick us, place us and shine upon us make us reflect what needs to be reflected... color &amp; flavour I have none....am just a drop of water frozen in mid air....

We have no isms or religions to spread
But ways to bind humanity in a common thread
Of seeking the ultimate some call divine
No hell to suffer or heaven to go and shine
But dissolution into the cosmic secret of time
Call it Mukthi or liberation sublime